'Embarrassed' Draymond took accountability in team speech after Game 6
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green revealed his focus ahead of Sunday night's Game 7 victory over the Houston Rockets was to re-evaluate how to lead by example after feeling ashamed by his conduct in Game 6.
"I pouted way too much last game, so I spent the last two days embarrassed at what I gave to the game, what I gave to the world," Green told media, including House of Highlights, after the Warriors' series-clinching 103-89 win. "I was embarrassed. ... I wanted to come out and prove again just who I am - with poise but with the same fire, same tenacity, but poise. And I think I delivered that and gave our guys something to follow.
"What I gave them last game to follow, they followed it - and that's why we got bullied. But I think I gave them something different to follow today and that was the message. That was the goal. And we got it done."
Green was assessed a flagrant-1 foul a little more than three minutes into Game 6 for hitting Rockets guard Jalen Green in the head while jostling with the 23-year-old on the perimeter. Despite officials making the decision after a video review, the Warriors vet continued to argue with referees as play resumed. The Rockets went on to win the first quarter and never trailed for the rest of the contest, winning 115-107 and overturning a 3-1 series deficit.
During a players-only meeting Saturday, Green said he took responsibility for his Game 6 behavior and wanted to inspire his teammates ahead of Sunday's do-or-die clash in Houston. He then opened Game 7 by scoring eight of Golden State's first 13 points, including two threes in the opening five minutes.
Despite never scoring more than eight points in Games 1-6, Green finished Game 7 with 16, as well as six rebounds and five assists. He was also a team-high plus-18.
"I think what goes into it is really deciding who's going to give the speech," Green said about how the Warriors prepared for the team meeting. "Obviously, I always try to defer to Steph (Curry). I defer to Jimmy (Butler), and they wanted me to speak, but I had a lot to say. And like I said, most importantly was calling myself out. You can't go into a Game 7 expecting guys to rally off the game we had before and not address it.
"And so I wanted to address that, number one. But then secondly, tell everybody else what we needed, which was a togetherness like no other. ... But as much as I think this team needed it, I feel like I needed it for myself even more because you got to be accountable. You can't be a leader and not be accountable, and (if) you call other guys out when their shit stinks, then you better say when yours does, too That's what I tried to make a point in doing."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr commended the 35-year-old for how he led the team on and off the court after Game 6.
"Draymond set the tone last night at the team meeting," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, courtesy of ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "Basically, he owned up to losing his poise in Game 6, and I agreed with him.
"I thought the flagrant foul was a tone-setter, and he knew it and so he talked to the group and said, 'I got to be poised and I have to be better, and we're going to come in here tomorrow and get it done.' And I think his emotional stability tonight, just his poise from the start, set a great tone."
The Warriors now travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. The series will pit Green against longtime rival Rudy Gobert, who he infamously put in a headlock during a 2023 matchup that earned Green a five-game suspension.
However, the forward said he plans to continue to keep his comportment in check.
"I have to keep it similarly (calm) for my guys," he said, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater. “Forget anybody else. "I'll be locked in.
"Finding that balance, finding that line and not crossing it is important for me and this team. I gave them my word, and I’ll continue to give them my word."